5 Things to Know When Building a New Home

Whenever you’re changing homes, you have a lot to think about. Let Storage.com help you navigate the process with tips on buying, selling, or renting, or with some additional space to help along the way.

Building a home can be awesome experience as you see your very own dream home take shape before your very eyes—or so the fantasies and reality TV shows make it appear. In reality, it can be a tricky time in your life to match up with the right builder, stay within budget, and ensure that you have a new home that will last. Following the right steps, building a new home can be that fun, delivering process that you had hoped it would be.

To help you on your way to building a new home, here are some things you need to know.

1. You Need to Count the Cost

The very things you should do when considering building a new home is the cost and whether or not it’s one you can afford. Are you looking for features you can’t afford? Do you want a two-story or a ranch? Is it worth it to build further outside of town or do you want to live in a popular neighborhood?

To help you determine if you can afford the home you want, the majority of home plans provide a cost tool to help get an accurate estimation of the construction costs. This tool should include the cost of construction, funds for the down payment, tax benefits, and other factors.

2. Architect vs Pre-Drawn Designs

When it comes to the actual design of the home, you have two options: hire someone to draw up a plan or use something pre-drawn. As you’re building the home you dreamed of, it should go without saying that having the right design is personal to you and your situation, which is why an architect or house designer may often sound like the best option, but that isn’t always the case.

Use an architect if you want a truly unique home or need help to overcome particular obstacles you may have, such as space restrictions. On the other hand, if you are eager to get into a new home or cannot afford an architect, there are a significant number of pre-drawn house plans that are both cheaper than an architect and can be more quickly constructed. You can even modify a pre-drawn plan to include those must-have features, like that wrap-around porch you’ve always wanted.

3. Think Long-Term

As you’re undergoing the construction process, it’s important to look at your house while considering where it—and you—may be 10 to 20 years from now. For starters, look at the energy efficiency. Is your insulation going to keep heat in the winter and block a summer swelter? Are the windows placed to maximize natural lighting? Small things like this can have a lasting impact on a house for decades.

And as for decades, it’s safe to assume that this house will be sold some day, so what choices are you making now with resale in mind? For instance, avoid overpricing your home for your neighborhood by having too many upgrades. Additionally, while it’s nice to have a more personal-touch to your home, make sure any features you purchase have a general appeal to attract future home-buyers.

4. Find the Right Builder

To make sure you get a quality home in an acceptable timeline, it’s important to find the right builder. Do your homework to find online reviews of the builders your considering and look for credible backing such as whether or not the builder is a member of the National Association of Home Builders.

It is also important to meet with the builder personally and ask questions. NewHomeSource.com offers 15 questions for home builders that can help give you confidence in your choice. These questions can be basic, such as how many years have you been in business and how many homes have you built? Or more in-depth questions, such as what major energy-saving features do you install or do you have any reference from past home buyers?

5. Begin Shopping Now

According to the the Wall Street Journal, the average home construction time is about 5 to 8 months to complete depending on what part of the country you live in. And while you may have found a reliable builder, sometimes the uncontrollable happens and delays will occur. However, you don’t have to wait for a move-in date to purchase new furniture and appliances for your home.

If you want to take advantage of temporary deals for appliances or pick up a piece of furniture you won’t be able to later, you can do so while you’re home is being constructed with the use of a storage unit. Self storage allows you to store items in a safe location by finding a storage facility with security features such as on-site management and video surveillance as well as protect items from the weather with climate-control, a feature that maintains a moderate temperature and humidity level inside the unit.

Having worked as a reporter and editor for a small newspaper, Vince loves finding experts and professionals to talk to about specific topics and trends. Outside of writing, he loves staying in shape and reading science fiction and fantasy.

How Self Storage Can Help When Building a New House

Whenever you’re changing homes, you have a lot to think about. Let Storage.com help you navigate the process with tips on buying, selling, or renting, or with some additional space to help along the way.

Where can you keep your things when building a home? What steps can you take to sell your current house before your new one is fully constructed? How can you purchase things for your new house prior to completion? The answer to all these questions is simple: a storage unit.

Self storage can help when building a new home by ultimately providing you the space you need to keep all your things, and with an array of sizes and features, most storage facilities can give you room for all the belongings in your house or just a space to clear out some clutter.

If you’re currently in the process of building a new home, here are some ways self storage can help.

What to Do When Construction Delays Occur

In any construction project, delays will happen. Unfortunately, if you’re already out of your previous home, this could leave you in a bit of a bind on where you place your things. Hotel rooms or staying with friends and family may be enough for you and your family, but the furniture, bedding, appliances, and boxes of all your belongings may be left without a home. Enter: self storage.

A storage unit is a great location to keep all your belongings as it can provide both the adequate room and security needed. For instance, as you’re storing all of your belongings in one location, it’s wise to find a storage facility with strong security features. Basic security can include electronic gate access and video surveillance, but many facilities offer more advanced amenities such as individually-alarmed units and onsite management to further deter any vandalism or theft.

Much like any relocation situation, self storage is a great way to alleviate any stress and hassle of finding a place for your things when delays inevitably occur.

How Self Storage Can Help Sell Your Current Home

While some home builders have the misfortune of not being able to get into their new homes soon enough, others may have the opposite problem of not being able to sell their current home. According to the National Organization of Realtors, something as small as home staging has an effect on 96% of potential buyers.

Home staging is the act of decluttering and better organizing your home to be more appealing to buyers. A storage unit can provide you with the space to store the “clutter” in your home to make it attractive to buyers. This can not only help you sell your home faster, but also get more out of your home when you do sell.

Most clutter in a home is comprised of personal stuff, which may mean a lot to you, but only distracts the buyer. When storing sensitive items like family photos, book, or even furniture, be sure to find a facility that has climate control. This feature maintains a moderate temperature and humidity level inside the unit, which helps preserve these sensitive items through all sorts of weather.

How to Prepare for Your Home Before Completion

In the case that your new home construction is going right on time, and you’re also having no issues with getting your current home sold, you may have more free time to focus on something fun: preparing for your new home. You may be eager to purchase new furniture and appliances, especially when there is a sale going on, but you’re not able to put them into your new home yet.

Rather than miss out on low prices for the things you want in your new home, consider renting a storage unit on a short-term basis. A 10×10 unit can hold the contents of a medium-sized living room, which can include a new couch, love seat, coffee table, and that unique, wicker floor lamp you just had to buy when it was on clearance.

Most storage facility offer short-term or month-to-month leasing, this way, you can purchase your items ahead of time—whether it be a week or a month—and have them ready to be moved in once you’re allowed to, no deals missed, no items lost.

Whether it be the space, features, or time that you need, a storage unit can be a great tool to use when building a new home.

Having worked as a reporter and editor for a small newspaper, Vince loves finding experts and professionals to talk to about specific topics and trends. Outside of writing, he loves staying in shape and reading science fiction and fantasy.

I have always thought of remodeling one room at a time to allow me to move the content of that room to the next and the pattern continues. However, that would require a dire amount of time and effort for sure. Moving the entire house’s content to a self storage would definitely help ease of a lot of workload and remodeling the whole house at once is made possible.

About Storage.com

Storage.com offers a complete self storage shopping experience that makes finding, comparing, and renting a storage unit simple. Storage.com also provides information and resources that can help you find the best storage solution for your needs. Our customer help center is happy to answer any questions you may have or even help you find a unit in your area.